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Angeles City: A Brief History
During the time when the Spanish colonizers were still very much present in the Philippines, Angeles City was just a distant barrio of San Fernando, the capital town of Pampanga province. Its inhabitants then were only a handful of poor casamacs or tenants of well to do landowners but wild Aetas also were said to be settled in the surrounding areas. It was known then as Culiat, named after a plant or a woody vine that abound in that place.
In 1796 one of the landowners, Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda, after just serving his term as Capitan (town mayor) of San Fernando, convinced some partners and farmers to clear Culiat to pave the way for his hacienda. However, Don Angel was appointed to a high-ranking position in the military so it was left to his wife, Dona Rosalia de Jesus to brave the wild aetas to continue in leading the clearing. It was only in 1811 when he was able to help his wife in finishing the clearing activities of the barrio.
A known pious man, Don Angel persisted for Culiat to become a parish. Despite strong opposition from local government officials and the parish priest from San Fernando who was even reported to be bad mouthing churchgoers from culiat, he got his wishes granted and Culiat became a parish in 1813.
It was also around this time or approximately in 1812 when the new settlers led by Don Angel thought of making culiat a self governing town, but again they met stiff resistance from the friars. Several petitions were made thereafter but they were all denied. Don Angel again remains unyielding together with some of his family members; they donated land for the construction of the first Catholic Church, a convent and a primary school. They also gave land for a public market, a sugar mill and even an alcohol distillery. In 1829 Don Angel dug deep into his own pocket to pay for the equivalent of 500 taxpayers which was required for the political separation of Culiat from San Fernando. There were only 160 settlers then but because of Don Angel’s desire to see culiat as an independent town, he willingly covered the rest of the obligation. Thus in that same year, and after many years of relentless effort, Culiat became a separate town.
The new town was called Angeles after the Los Santos Angeles Custodios (Holy Guardian Angels) but actually it was also in honor of its founder Don Angel.
American Period
On March 17, 1899 General Emilio Aguinaldo makes Angeles the capital of his revolutionary government upon news of the occupation of Manila by a new foreign invader, the Americans. On June 12 of that same year, the first anniversary of Philippine Independence was also celebrated at the Pamintuan residence which is also in Angeles. President Aguinaldo was in attendance.
On August 10, 1899 the American forces entered the town and quickly occupied the town church (now known as the Holy Rosary church) and converted it into a military hospital and headquarters. It took the Americans only three months to win the battle between the Filipinos but somehow the battle of Angeles was recorded as the longest in the history of the Filipino-American war in Pampanga. Immediately after their success the Americans established their first military camp on one of Angeles barrios, Talimundoc or what is now known as barangay Lourdes Sur. In 1902 they transferred their camp in the vicinity of Barrio Sapang Bato as the land in that area is more fertile and had better grass for their horses. So on September 1, 1902 U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order making 7,700 acres of land in Sapang Bato as Fort Stotsenburg. In 1908 they expanded their camp to 156,204 acres and renamed it as Clark Air Base.
The organization of U.S. sponsored civil government cane much earlier than the establishment of their military base. It was on the new year of 1900 that General Frederick D. Grant appointed Don Mariano Vicente Henson as the first alcalde or municipal mayor of Angeles. This is the commencement of American colonization in Angeles City.
Japanese Period
Being the host of the largest American military base outside mainland United States, Angeles witnessed one of the most destructive air raids during the outbreak of World War II on December 8, 1941. Within hours after their attack on Pearl Harbor the Japanese set their sights on Clark Air Base destroying almost all the American war planes to the ground.
The first Japanese troops entered the city on the early morning of New Year’s Day of 1942 and as soon as they got settled, they set up their own type of government for the city. The Japanese committed many atrocities during their stay and this was only stopped when finally in 1945 the U.S. Forces defeated Japan via the first atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Beyond World War II
The end of World War II paved the way for the United States to grant independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946 but they remained keen on keeping their military bases in our country. The Americans were able to bargain through the Philippine-American Military Bases Agreement to maintain territorial integrity and sovereignty over Clark Air Base and other bases in our country as well for the next 44 years.
The proximity of Clark Air Base proved economically beneficial to Angeles. It was able to progress ahead over all the towns that comprised Pampanga, including that of San Fernando from where Angeles was just carved out. Angeles became a chartered city on 1964 whereas San Fernando became a component city only after 37 years or in the year 2001. This was done through the effort of then Mayor Rafael del Rosario with the assistance of a prominent resident of the town, Attorney Enrique Tayag. Congresswoman Juanita L. Nepomuceno of the 1st district of Pampanga sponsored the bill in congress which was subsequently approved by then President Diosdado Macapagal, also a native of Pampanga.
The Mt. Pinatubo eruption
The last and most significant event that shaped Angeles history in the 1900 was the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo on June 15, 1991. After 600 years of slumber, the volcano blanketed the whole city and of Clark Air Base with tons of lahar. Agricultural lands and business were badly affected. The eruption was recorded as the second largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century, and by far, the largest eruption to affect a densely populated area.
During the same year the American Government were seriously batting for the extension of their use of Clark Air Base and other military facilities in the country as their lease agreement with the Philippine government was drawing to a near. But the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo forced the Americans to prematurely vacate their bases. It also made them tentative to return and restore their devastated military base. It was uncertain times for both the local residents and the Americans.
It was the Philippine Senate in 1991 that dictated the fate of the U. S. military bases in the country, including that of Clark Air Base and Angeles City. The senators or majority of them put up a nationalistic stance and voted against the further stay of U.S. military or the extension of the Laurel-Langley Act. Hence, on September 16, 1991, in accordance with the 1947 military bases agreement, Clark Air Base officially ceased operation.
The Filipinos took responsibility in cleaning Clark of volcanic ash deposits. It emerged thereafter as an economic zone. Accordingly, on April 3, 1993 the former base was now known as Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) and this was on the approval of then President Fidel V. Ramos. The Philippine government also took advantage of the parallel runways left by the US Air force. They improved the airfield and other much needed infrastructures surrounding the area and in 2001 renamed the Clark International Airport into DiosdadoMacapagal International Airport in honor of the father of current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose administration is dedicated in forming Clark and Angeles and other areas in the whole region as well, to form the hub for business, industry, aviation and tourism. The airport now is destined to become the premier airport in the country.
Today Angeles and Clark experiences parallel growth and development. They have fully risen from the ashes.
Angeles City
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